Oloja-Elect drags Oba of Lagos, police to court over alleged harassment, land dispute.

A fierce legal battle is brewing within Lagos’ royal and traditional institutions as Prince Abiola Olojo Kosoko, the Oloja-elect of Lagos, has filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, and senior officers of the Nigeria Police Force.

The suit, currently before the Federal High Court in Lagos, underscores an escalating dispute over land ownership in the Ogombo area of Eti-Osa Local Government, as well as succession to the prestigious Oloja of Lagos chieftaincy title, traditionally reserved for the Kosoko royal family.

Prince Kosoko, in a detailed affidavit, accused Oba Akiolu of abusing his influence as the paramount ruler of Lagos and a retired senior police officer to intimidate, harass, and destabilise his family through repeated police actions.

The applicant, Prince Abiola Olojo Kosoko, is the acknowledged Oloja-elect of Lagos and a direct descendant of King Kosoko, a historic warrior-king whose reign shaped the political and territorial history of Lagos.

The respondents include: Inspector General of Police (IGP), Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bello Muhammed, CSP Mariam Ogunmolasuyi, Inspector Ebere, HRM Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Oba of Lagos, and Olumegbon Ajah Chieftaincy Family Property & Investments Ltd, a subsidiary of the Olumegbon royal family.

Prince Kosoko alleged that Oba Akiolu, leveraging his connections within the police hierarchy, used law enforcement agencies to arrest workers on Kosoko family land at Ogombo, detain them in inhumane conditions, and file criminal charges over what is fundamentally a civil dispute.

The applicant noted that a Lagos High Court had, in Suit No. LD/12881LMW/2022, delivered judgment in favour of the Kosoko family, recognising their ownership of 114.476 hectares of land at Ogombo.

The court’s consent judgment, delivered on November 12, 2024 by Justice O.O. Ogunjobi, settled the ownership dispute in favour of the family.

Despite this, Kosoko claimed that the Oba of Lagos, continued to sponsor police interventions on the land instead of challenging the judgment through the Court of Appeal.

“Ownership of land is a purely civil matter and not criminal in nature. The 6th Respondent (Oba Akiolu) has the right to appeal the judgment of the High Court, which he has failed to do.

“Instead, he is using the Police and government agencies to intimidate me and collect my family land,” the affidavit reads in part.

The applicant highlighted that his family had previously instituted another suit – FHC/L/CS/308/2025, before Justice Aluko of the Federal High Court, against the Inspector General of Police and others, over similar police harassment.

Kosoko further claimed that the real aim of these actions is not only to seize the Ogombo land but also to strip his family of its traditional claim to the Oloja of Lagos title, which has historically belonged to the Kosoko lineage.

Tracing his lineage, the Oloja-elect recounted that his ancestor, King Kosoko, acquired vast lands stretching from Lagos Island to Epe through warfare and conquest, with an addition that a September 28, 1854 treaty reportedly recognised Kosoko’s territorial claims, and a subsequent 1863 treaty ceded Lekki and Porto Novo outposts to the British colony of Lagos.

He argued that the Ogombo lands form part of this ancestral estate, and that any contrary claim, including that of the Olumegbon family through their investment company, is legally invalid, given the unchallenged 2024 High Court judgment.

The affidavit is replete with claims of direct threats allegedly made by the Oba of Lagos.

Prince Kosoko stated that Oba Akiolu had boasted about his ability to use his influence as paramount ruler and former police chief to “relegate me and my family to the background”.

He alleged further that the monarch had vowed to ensure he loses both the Ogombo land and his right to succeed as Oloja of Lagos.

“The 6th Respondent has been heard to boast that aside from being the Paramount Traditional Ruler of Lagos, he equally doubles as a senior of the 2nd Respondent and there is nothing that he wants from the 1st and 2nd Respondents that they would not do for him,” the applicant swore.

Prince Kosoko, through his counsel, L.A. Alabi, B.A. Okoni, and A.O. Akinleye (Mrs), is urging the Federal High Court to grant the following:

“A declaration enforcing his fundamental human rights, particularly protection from harassment, intimidation, and unlawful arrest.

“An order restraining the police and the Oba of Lagos from further interference with his family’s land at Ogombo.

“Any further reliefs the court may deem fit in the circumstances.”

As of the time of filing this report, no date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

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